Are you my Mother?
by Itzika
Summary: While Rins and Eve are shopping one day, Train and Sven meet a woman who claims to be Eve's mother. But Eve was made, not born... right?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Black Cat... but I do own Sarah Winters.

Are You My Mother?

Train and Sven were seated outside a café, waiting for Rinslet to get back with Eve. The girls had gone on a shopping trip for "something to replace the black" clothes, which Rinslet insisted "didn't suit an angel." She'd made such comments constantly since Eve had developed her ability to grow wings.

"Hey, Sven, how long d'you think they're gonna take?" Train asked, having finally eaten his fill.

Sven looked at his watch. "Hasn't even been an hour. We've got time."

Train got up. "Well, let's stop sitting around and go _do_ something!" he said. "C'mon, Sven, what's the point in waiting? You know Rins, this'll take _ages_."

Sven reluctantly called a waiter and paid the bill, but flat-out refused to leave just yet. "Tell you what. You call Rinslet, tell her we'll meet them at the fountain in the square at three, and _then_ we'll go."

Train jumped back. "No way! Nuh-uh! She finds out we're free, she'll rope us into helping!"

Sven grinned and lit up a cigarette, standing. "Wouldn't put it past her," he agreed, "especially not after the dinosaur party incident."

Train grinned back. "So c'_mon_, Sven! Like you said, we've got time!" As Sven hesitated, Train realized the problem. "Eve'll be fine. She's a tough kid, and anyway, Rins can find us no matter where we go."

With that, he grabbed Sven and started walking. "Let's _go!_ It's not like we have forever before they finish—no, wait, it pretty much is."

Sven followed reluctantly, but stopped dead after only half a block. Train turned back. "Come on, Sven! What's the problem now?"

Sven's mouth opened slightly, just enough that the cigarette fell from his lips. He pointed. "Train… look. Doesn't she look like… Eve?"

Train turned and scanned the crowd. Soon enough, he saw a familiar face. The woman had blond hair and eyes shaped like Eve's. She was, granted, much taller, and had filled out, but her eyes were even half-lidded with the same half-conscious look, her hair curling in the same patterns.

When she noticed Train's attention, she looked between them, from the tattoo on Train's chest to the patch over Sven's eye. She approached them, suddenly seeming hurried.

"Excuse me," she said when she reached them, "but are you, by any chance… Sven Vollfield?"

Sven looked thrown. "Maybe," he said cautiously. "Who're you?"

The woman grabbed his arm. "My name is Sarah Winters. They said, if I came to you, I could find my daughter… Is it true? Do you have Eve?"

Yay! Black Cat fanfiction! Okay, so... please review. I need feedback.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Gomen nasai!!!!! Terribly sorry for the slow update! The truth is, when I started writing this, I knew where the first chapter would go and that was about it. I'm still trying to decide about Sarah's real relationship, or lack thereof, with Eve. Maybe she'll be her mother for real… maybe not. Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed! If you keep reviewing, I might update faster… I make no promises, though, because I am the worst procrastinator on the planet. But anyway, please read and review! And thanks to requim17! That's so nice of you! I almost consistently put characters in situations where by definition they have to be ooc (read "The Spider's Web" in the _Yu Yu Hakusho _fandom if you don't believe me), so to hear that I kept a hyperactive, unpredictable lunatic in character is fantastic! Oh, and I'm going through a period where all my money is going towards library fines and random trips to randomer (is that a word?) places, so I'm still on volume 4. NO SPOILING ANYTHING BEYOND THAT!!!!! If I want to know, I'll read it online (I think mangavolume . com has it…). So anyway, this has been a VERY long author's note, so on with the fic!

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"Eve? Are you… are you saying you're Eve's _mother?_" Train asked incredulously.

"Sarah" nodded, unshed tears filling her eyes. Train winced inwardly. _That's it_, he thought, _Sven HAS to help now_.

"Yes…" "Sarah" whispered. "Yes, I'm her mother… Please, is it true? Do you have Eve?"

"She travels with us," Sven answered.

"HUH?!" Train yelled. "Sven, you don't know if you can trust her!"

"Either way, Eve can take care of herself," Sven said. "But I'm inclined to trust her. Her eyes tell me I can."

"Sarah" gripped Sven's hands. "Please, take me to Eve."

"Whoa, hold on, lady," Train said. "We can't—"

"Of course," Sven interrupted. At Train's stare, he said, "But we won't just hand her over to you, and we won't tell her you say you're her mother."

"I don't understand…" "Sarah" said softly. A single tear escaped from the pool in her eye and traced a long, slow path down her cheek. "Why can't I take my daughter home with me?"

Sven turned toward the open square nearby. "Why don't we sit down?" "Sarah" nodded and followed him over to a bench, wiping the tear from her face. Train followed a pace and a half behind, ready to stop the woman if she did anything out of the ordinary.

"Look…" Sven began when they were seated. "If you really are Eve's mother, you know she's had enough tragedy in her life. If you're lying, it wouldn't be fair to add to that tragedy by telling her you might be her mother and then having it turn out to be that you're not. You understand, right?"

"Sarah" looked down at the cobblestones between her feet. "I… I suppose I do…" she answered. "I know she's had a hard life… I wish I could change that… I should have been there for her…"

"Umm… yeah." Train looked over at Sven, unsure of whether he would be safe continuing. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but why weren't you there? We found Eve with Torneo."

"Sarah" looked down sadly. "Yes… I suppose I should explain…" She took a deep breath and began.

"My husband worked for Torneo. I didn't ever know what he did until after… but we barely ever had enough money to put food on the table, and if you're living like that, you can't question where the money comes from. If you don't like the answer, you'll want to refuse to eat, and you can never afford to do that. So I was worried when I found out I had conceived a child, because I thought we wouldn't have enough food, and the baby would be premature, and if it even survived we wouldn't be able to pay for food and care and clothes…

"But then, a few weeks into my pregnancy, my husband told me that his boss had been so delighted for us when he learned that I was with child that he was offering to pay for all our medical needs, and for the baby's care until we could get financially back on our feet. I was surprised but willing enough to accept his help.

"So the pregnancy went fine, and nine months later, on schedule almost to the day, I went into labor. We went to the hospital—a real hospital, not a midwife like I'd been afraid we'd need—and the doctors took me through the birth.

"As soon as the baby—Eve—was born, they rushed her out of the room—they said she'd inhaled something, but it was fine, it happened sometimes, and they'd bring her back soon. Only, ten minutes later, they came back into the room, all looking very solemn, and said that they were sorry, but that they couldn't save her. I cried… so hard…" Several tears followed the path of the first.

"It was years before I found out that my husband had traded Eve for a pay raise, so we could live more easily. I only found out because one of Torneo's men came to the house for something—I didn't really hear what. I followed them to Torneo's complex. Once I saw it… Well, I hadn't had my head buried in a ditch all those years. I knew how big Torneo was."

Sven's eyes narrowed at that, but he said nothing. "Sarah" continued.

"So I started looking for Eve. That's what I wanted to name her; that's what my husband said they had named her. Years later, someone finally told me they had seen a girl who looked like me with a man with an eye patch and green hair, so I started looking for someone who looked like that. When I found you, and I showed a picture of you to the man who'd described you before, he immediately said, 'That's the man.' So I started looking for you. I…" She laughed a little, sniffling at the same time.

"I'd almost given up on finding you, and then I saw you, and you looked just like you did in the picture, but… are you traveling with the Black Cat, or is that just an imitator?"

Train's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I'm _me!_" he snapped. "I'm the _real_ Black Cat. Not an imposter. Got that?"

"Sarah" looked taken aback, then smiled through the last of her tears and nodded. "You have strange friends, Sven Vollfield," she said, wiping her eyes.

"Eve's just as strange," Sven warned her.

"Sarah" frowned. "How do you mean?"

"You don't know about the Hand of God project Torneo was working on?" Train asked.

Sarah shook her head, still frowning. "I've never heard of such a thing. What is it?"

"An experiment," Sven said simply. "The experiment Torneo was so desperate to get your daughter for."

"Sarah" nodded slowly in apparent understanding. "Then… it changed Eve?"

"Oh yeah." Train nodded, eyes wide for emphasis.

"Sarah" looked sad. "I… I was worried that that might be true. How… what's different about Eve?"

"Can't tell you that," Sven said immediately. "Sorry, but we still can't trust you. So we can't tell you what's different about Eve." Train nodded in agreement.

"Sarah" looked saddened for a moment. "I… suppose I understand. But… I can see her, can't I?"

"Of course," Sven assured her before Train could say anything.

"Hel-LOOO!" a familiar female voice called just then. Train winced. Rinslet came into view, Eve alongside. Eve was wearing a new outfit: a wraparound light blue skirt over black leggings, topped with a red sleeveless top. Rinslet carried a few dozen bags that boded no good for the two men. "Train! Sven! We're—"

Rinslet stopped in the middle of her sentence, staring openly. Train watched her, wondering what would happen. As it turned out, it was Eve who spoke first.

"Who are you?" she asked Sarah.

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A/N: Wasn't that fun? Okay, now, I stayed up until midnight writing this when I have a midterm exam tomorrow (yes, I have an exam on a Saturday, and doesn't that suck), so please do me a favor and review! If you do that, I'll try and figure out what happens next sooner!


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